[Video Guide] Sustainable Coffee in Vietnam: How Farmer Qu Is Redefining Quality from Farm to Cup

In Vietnam’s lush Central Highlands, coffee farmer Qu is redefining what the future of coffee can be. His farm, Midin Farm—named after the Sapa word for “green”—is built on one mission: to grow coffee in harmony with nature.

“Here, we try to bring the green color back to your soul,” Qu explained. “To bring nature to your home and make everyone happy with the natural world.”

Growing Coffee in Balance with Nature

At Midin Farm, Qu cultivates both Arabica and Robusta organically, without synthetic fertilizers. Fruit and forest trees provide shade, protect the soil, and help maintain biodiversity.

“When we cut the forest long ago, the soil was rich,” he said. “Now we must rebuild it with trees and shade so farmers can thrive again.”

His approach blends traditional Vietnamese farming with modern agroforestry—restoring balance to the land while improving quality.

From Farm to Cup

For years, farmers sold coffee to large companies focused only on caffeine content. Qu wanted something more meaningful.

“Before, we didn’t know where our coffee went,” he said. “Now we process it ourselves—from farm to cup.”

He carefully sorts and processes every batch by hand, using natural and fermented methods to develop complex flavors.

“Even one bad bean can make a cup bitter,” he said. “Quality is everything.”

This hands-on approach allows Qu to control every step, ensuring his coffee reflects the land it grows on.

A Living Ecosystem

Walking through his farm, Qu pointed out buzzing bees among the coffee blossoms.

“Without bees, the coffee cannot make fruit,” he said. “Beekeepers bring their hives during flowering season, and we make honey too.”

Every part of the ecosystem supports another—trees protect soil, bees pollinate flowers, and compost from fruit trees nourishes the roots.

Shifting from Quantity to Quality

Vietnam is known for large-scale Robusta production, but farmers like Qu are leading a new movement focused on quality over quantity.

“Twenty years ago, we only cared about more,” he said. “Now we care about better. We want every cup to show the best of Vietnam.”

Each year, Qu refines his process, improving flavor and sustainability. His goal: to inspire more farmers to embrace organic, eco-friendly methods and connect their work directly to coffee lovers around the world.

“When you drink it,” Qu said, “you drink our land, our care, and our hope.”

At Volcanica Coffee, we’re proud to work with producers like Qu, whose passion and respect for nature are transforming Vietnamese coffee.

Full Video Transcript:

"Narrator: Today, we’re going deep into Qu’s journey of transformation — and tasting the future of Vietnamese coffee.

Qu: Welcome! My name is Qu, and we are here on my farm in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam. The name of my farm is Midin Farm. In the Sapa language, “midin” means green. Here, we try to bring the green color to your soul — to bring nature into your home and help everyone feel happy with the natural world.

Qu: On this farm, we grow both Arabica and Robusta coffee — two varieties we care for organically. That means we don’t use any chemicals in the garden. We’re also working to make the quality of our coffee higher. We start by harvesting 100% ripe cherries, then we process, dry, and roast everything ourselves — right here on the farm — before serving it to you in the cup. This is how we do things here: combining old wisdom with new methods to revive rich flavors and sustainable practices that were almost forgotten.

Qu (walking through the farm): We’re planting forest trees and fruit trees between our coffee plants to cover the land and improve soil quality. For example, look here — this coffee tree grows in the shade of a fruit tree. Its leaves are larger and darker green.
Now compare it to this one under direct sun — its leaves are smaller and yellowish, and the plant tires more easily. Sun gives more cherries, but shade gives the tree a longer, healthier life. A long time ago, when people cut the forests, the soil was rich. But over time, the soil became weak. Farmers grew poorer because the land was damaged by chemicals. In the future, we want to plant more forest and fruit trees and keep the ecosystem balanced — so the coffee trees are more comfortable and the farmers can live better.

Qu: Customers today want coffee with more natural, complex flavors. So we’ve been experimenting with new processing methods — natural, anaerobic, and fermented processes. We believe the future of coffee flavor and quality will come from organic farming and careful processing. But we face challenges: customer education, climate change, and keeping our knowledge growing. In Vietnam, some farmers are starting to grow under forest shade again and moving toward organic systems. That gives us hope.

Qu (showing the beehives): Yesterday, we talked about ecosystems. You can see it here — we have bees. Without bees, coffee cannot make fruit. When the coffee flowers bloom, local beekeepers bring their hives here. They work with us, pollinate the flowers, and make honey too.

Qu: A long time ago, farmers didn’t know how to roast or brew coffee themselves. They sold cherries to big companies. The companies only cared about caffeine. They would buy any kind of coffee — ripe or unripe — because they only needed caffeine. Then they mixed it with sugar and acids to control flavor. But now, many of us want to change that. We want to make coffee from the farm to the cup ourselves. On my farm, we carefully sort every bean by hand. We separate the good beans from the bad ones — it’s slow work, but very important. Even one broken bean can make a cup taste bitter. For me, a good cup is one where every bean matters.

Qu: Ten or twenty years ago, we only cared about quantity — more and more coffee. But we didn’t care about quality. Now, that mindset is changing. We’re focusing on quality over quantity, and the flavor of Vietnamese coffee is improving every year.

Qu: Thank you to Rich and Lizzy for visiting my farm. I hope that in the future, we can continue to make better coffee and help more farmers switch from conventional to organic farming. That will make our environment better, our farmers healthier, and our customers happier. Every year, I try to do better. When you visit my farm, taste my coffee, and share feedback — it helps me grow. So thank you, and I hope everyone can come here, enjoy the coffee, and learn the story behind every cup.

Narrator: From Vietnam’s green highlands to your cup — this is Qu’s journey of transformation, and the future of sustainable coffee."